A&E’s ‘Bates Motel’ Returns Steady, Skews Much Younger

“Bates Motel,” A&E’s contemporary prequel to Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” returned to good ratings as it kicked off its second season Monday night, including a series high among adults under 35.

Overall, according to live plus same-day Nielsen estimates, “Bates Motel” averaged a series-best 3.07 million viewers — up a smidge from the 3.04 million for its series opener in March of last year and 14% above its first-season finale last May (2.70 million). Last year, its original episodes averaged 2.74 million same-night viewers and 4.41 million when seven days of DVR playback was included.

It’s interesting to see how young the show is now skewing, as it shed some older viewers who may have been drawn due to familiarity with “Psycho” while adding lots of adults 18-34.

While Monday’s second-season premiere delivered the exact same adults 18-49 rating as its series opener (1.26), “Bates Motel” was down nearly 20% in adults 25-54 (1.12 vs. 1.38) while up about the same amount in adults 18-34 (1.45 vs. 1.22).

In adults 18-34, “Bates Motel” was the No. 1 scripted drama on television for its 9 p.m. timeslot, besting Fox’s “The Following” (1.1 rating). Among all scripted skeins from 9 to 10 p.m., it tied for first with the CBS comedy combo of “Mike & Molly” and “Mom.”

Following “Bates Motel” on A&E, the series premiere of Chloe Sevigny series “Those Who Kill” averaged a soft 1.4 million viewers.